


For Love or Money

by OLlVlACRAlN



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-25 22:11:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18172100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OLlVlACRAlN/pseuds/OLlVlACRAlN
Summary: What does Charity really want, love or money?





	For Love or Money

“Ness wait!” Charity’s words fall on deaf ears as she sees her fiancée speed through the back of the pub and straight up the stairs. As Charity turns to follow her, she realises that this isn’t just about allowing some perverted man to touch her up or even about letting him even consider the idea that she might go out with him, it’s about letting her fiancée down, letting the woman she loves down. It wasn’t supposed to get this far, she wasn’t supposed to hurt Vanessa like this. A few flirty touches and a subtle wink she could deal with, enough to lure the creep Robert has decided to do business with in but not too far as to hurt Vanessa. Charity had sat there staring at this man, nowhere near with as much adoration and happiness as she does Vanessa, if anything she was counting down the second until this meeting was over and she could go back to being with Vanessa, but from Vanessa’s view Charity knew the situation she was currently in would look a little too close for comfort.

Before she realises, she hears the lock on hers and Vanessa’s bedroom door click shut, she sighs as she slumps against the door. She can hear Vanessa’s soft sobs from outside the door and feels her heart shatter.

“Ness, babe, please let me in”, Charity’s breath stills as she waits for a reply, after a few seconds she lets out a long slow breath, closing her eyes. From the moment she set eyes on Vanessa she knew she was something special, the immediate feeling of joy and safety whenever she graced Charity with her presence. As the relationship blossomed, she began to realise that Vanessa was the woman she wanted to, no, needed to, spend the rest of her life with. Sure, she had loved people before, she had learnt to love people before, but Charity didn’t have to learn to love Vanessa, that just came naturally; as natural as a baby’s first breath or the birds singing as the sun rises. Vanessa had stuck by her through more drama than what most people face in a lifetime, with Bails came the discovery that Charity had now a very grown up eldest son, Ryan. The stress of the courts, the judgement and the tails of her broken childhood being made into Pearl’s latest gossip had nearly broken Charity – a woman famously known for being unbreakable. But through it all the only person who stood closely by her side was Vanessa, telling her to ‘never say you’re okay if you’re not’ and holding her close to her chest as she sobbed herself to sleep night upon night. A year down the line and here she is, letting fresh tears trickle down her face as she realises how hurt Vanessa must’ve been when she walked into the pub to see the woman, she loves wining and dining a man she’d only just set her eyes upon. Knowing that Vanessa’s heart would’ve broke at the sight, remembering her tear-filled eyes as she looked at Charity one last time before sprinting up to their bedroom.

“I’m begging you Ness, please just let me in” Charity’s voice breaks as she speaks. She soon hears movement from inside their shared bedroom and then the familiar sound of their bedroom door unlocking. As she jumps up, she spins on her heels and is faced with a very red-faced Vanessa, stained cheeks from her recently shed tears, mascara streaming down her face, nose red raw from the sniffling and a quivering lip. Charity doesn’t know what to do for a second, and then she remembers all that Vanessa had taught her; all the kindness and love Vanessa has taught her to share in these moments. So, she bites the bullet and does a something extremely uncharacteristic; she apologises.

“Please just listen to me before you shut me out again”, she lowers her head and grabs Vanessa’s warm hands, playing gently with the engagement ring she had placed on her slender fingers just months before. “What you saw out there, I-, it wasn’t-, I promise you it wasn’t what it looked like. I know you think I was flirting with him for the sake of it, probably just to piss you off even, I know I’ve been a moody cow recently, but I promise you it’s not you. I just-, I’m sorry I just- “

“Spit it out Charity!” Vanessa’s voice is harsh, and Charity looks up in shock at the sheer volume and anger coming from such a small person.

Charity’s back straitens, and she takes a deep breath. “I promise you it was nothing. What you saw out there, it was just business.”

Vanessa’s eyes go dark with anger, she pulls her hands from Charity’s grasp and places them on her hips. She’s not about to roll over and take this, Charity is not about to take her for granted, and certainly not after she’s just spent the last hour entertaining some middle-aged perverted man, letting his filthy hands dance all over her as she laughed at probably some of the worst jokes Vanessa has ever had the misfortune of hearing. “Business? FUCKING BUSINESS?!” Vanessa’s words roar from her throat as she starts to shake in sheer anger. Being with Charity has always been a whirlwind of emotions but this level of anger from Vanessa has shocked them both. “Charity, you acted happier with that man than you have with me in days. You let him flirt with you, touch you and perv all over you while I was standing no more than 10 feet away. You embarrassed me in front of a pub full of punters, a pub full of our friends. Better still, when you finally bother to talk to me about this you use the excuse that its ‘business’, you can’t even apologise without making an excuse anymore. You’ve been off with me for days, but this is too far.”

Charity sighs, she knows no ordinary apology is going to solve this situation, especially when Vanessa is this mad.

“Ness, babe- “

“Don’t you dare ‘babe’ me, you’re not getting out of this with a few nicknames a half-hearted apology Charity, you hurt me”, Vanessa’s voice quietens as she finishes her sentence.

“Vanessa, I promise you, what you saw out there really was just business, Robert knows the bloke and he has a lot of money. You and I both know that I can never resist a large sum of money for next to know effort, well no effort when you’re as talented as me” Charity winks at her, trying to make light of the situation.

Vanessa’s eyes close slowly, almost like she’s savouring the few seconds her damp eyes get to rest. Her body relaxes, and she slumps onto their bed, lying back. She pats the space beside her encouraging Charity to lie down next to her. Charity looks at her cautiously, concerned as she looks more relaxed now than angry, like every concern has floated out of the window. Charity sits beside her, watching over the woman she loves as she lies still, paying close attention to how Vanessa’s chest moves up and down in slow movements as she takes long, shallow breaths. Minutes pass until either of them say another word, when the silence gets too much for Charity, as she’s just about to say something else, Vanessa speaks up.

“I bought you an engagement ring” Vanessa says calmly. This calm persona is starting to worry her fiancée, especially after just a few moments ago she was stood in front of her physically shaking from the anger souring through her small frame. Charity’s faced is a picture, jaw dropped and eyes wide at what Vanessa has just said to her. Before Charity has time to truly register what Vanessa has just says she hears her soft voice again, “I was going to give it to you today, had it all planned out, but I came home to see you flirting with Mr Lover Lover didn’t I?” As Charity goes to speak Vanessa cuts her off once more, “This is the problem with you Charity, you’re greedy. I wasn’t enough for you. You had to go after the money, even if it had nothing to do with you. I can’t live like this Charity, I can’t. you have to choose. What do you really want? Love or money?”

“You bought me an engagement ring?” Charity’s voice is laced with shock.

“Of course I did. We’re engaged. We’re meant to be getting married Charity. Although it looked like you forgot about that earlier”.

“I promise you I didn’t forget it Ness, I love you, and I know you love me. We’re going to have a wedding Ness. You’re going to walk down the aisle in front of all our friends and family, we’re going to say our vows and exchange rings, then we’re going to have a piss-up, in true Dingle fashion”. Charity smiles at Vanessa, earning a soft smile back.

Vanessa pushes herself off the bed and reaches into her bedside drawer, fumbling round until she pulls out a small black box. She moves to sit on the bed again in front of Charity. Vanessa pushes open the lid to the box revealing a beautiful diamond ring, it’s simple and elegant and so perfect that Charity feels her chest tighten.

“I understand we’ve already established we’re getting married, we did that when you proposed, twice.” Vanessa is looking at her with a softer look in her eyes now, their argument feeling lightyears away. “But it was important to me that you had an engagement ring as well as me”, Vanessa slides the ring onto Charity’s long finger and kisses her hand. “you may be imperfect, but that’s what I love most about you, your imperfection make you unique, so even if you drive me completely insane at times, I will always love the bones of you Charity Dingle.” When Charity looks at Vanessa once more she’s smiling, tears are still falling onto her cheeks gently but they’re happier tears now, tears of love and celebration rather than jealousy and anger.

A tear escapes Charity’s eye as she looks up at her fiancée, letting out a gentle cough before she speaks, as to make sure the words she’s about to say need to be perfect. “It’s love. When you asked me before what I really want. Its love Ness. It’ll always be love, because I’m in love with you.”


End file.
